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Defenseless Under the Night
The Roosevelt Years, Civil Defense, and the Origins of Homeland Security
By: Matthew Dallek
Hardcover | 16 August 2016
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In this book, Matthew Dallek, historian, journalist, and speechwriter, narrates the history of the Office of Civilian Defense. He uses the development of the precursor of "homeland security" as a way of examining constitutional questions about civil liberties; the role of government in propagandizing to its own citizens; competing visions among liberals and conservatives for establishing a plan to defend America; and federal, state, and local responsibilities for citizen protection. Much of the dramatic tension lies in the preparation of communities against attack and their fears of Japanese invasion along the Pacific Coast and Nazi invasion. So too there was a clash of visions between LaGuardia and Eleanor Roosevelt. The mayor argued that the OCD's focus had to be on preparing the country against German and Japanese attack, including conducting blackout drills, preparing evacuation plans, coordinating emergency medical teams, and protecting industrial plants and transportation centers. The First Lady believed the OCD should also promote social justice for African Americans and women and raise civilian morale through the building of nursery schools, old-age homes, housing projects, and physical fitness centers. Their clashes frustrated FDR, who pressured them both to resign in 1942, and led to the appointment of James Landis, commissioner of the SEC, who created a semi-military operation that involved grassroots citizen mobilization, including dimming house-lights to prevent German subs from spotting American ships on the Atlantic, planting Victory Gardens, and building the Civil Air Patrol. Over twelve million volunteers joined civil defense under his leadership, making it the largest volunteer program in World War II America.
This dramatic story of the wartime homefront will interest readers attracted to New Deal and wartime domestic history, those who read about both Roosevelts and Fiorello LaGuardia, and those interested in the history of civil defense and Homeland Security.
Industry Reviews
ISBN: 9780199743124
ISBN-10: 0199743126
Published: 16th August 2016
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Number of Pages: 336
Audience: Professional and Scholarly
Publisher: Oxford University Press USA
Country of Publication: GB
Dimensions (cm): 16.6 x 24.3 x 2.9
Weight (kg): 0.64
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You Can Find This Book In
This product is categorised by
- Non-FictionHistoryRegional & National HistoryHistory of the Americas
- Non-FictionPolitics & GovernmentPolitical Structure & Processes
- Non-FictionPolitics & GovernmentCentral GovernmentCentral Government Policies
- Non-FictionHistoryMilitary HistorySecond World War
- Non-FictionWarfare & DefenceMilitary & Defence StrategyCivil Defence
- Non-FictionHistoryEarliest Times to Present Day20th Century History from 1900 to 2000
- Non-FictionHistoryGeneral & World History
- Non-FictionPolitics & GovernmentInternational Relations
- Non-FictionWarfare & DefenceWar & Defence OperationsBattles & Campaigns